South African artists in Gwangjuby Sue Williamson
On the day that the Gwangju Biennale opened as the major art event of South Korea, Johannesburg artist Joachim Schönfeldt found that his work appeared on the front page of at least six South Korean newspapers. Entitled Four musicians (Moo, roar, chee-ow, yeeoh) the compelling installation consisted of four stuffed creatures: at the bottom, a peafowl hen, on her shoulders an eagle, then a lioness and a cow. Departing from the highly accomplished woodcarving techniques for which he is known, Schoänfeldt worked with a taxidermist in Pretoria to make the piece.
Fortuitously positioned at the entrance to the Biennale, the artist's installation includes an original music score written especially for the piece by James French, and played in Gwangju by local musicians. The composition was sponsored by the artist's Johannesburg gallery, Gallery AOP (until recently known as Art on Paper).
The curator of the Gwangju Biennale is Okwui Enwezor, well known to South African audiences for his excellent curation of the 2nd Johannesburg Biennale (1997). The theme he chose for Gwangju in 2008, was 'Annual Report', an open-ended title which allowed Enwezor to choose work which he personally found compelling rather than having to adhere to a particular theme. 'The only strategy we have is to put forward the best exhibition we can', Enwezor is quoted as saying at the press conference.
The second Johannesburg artist on the Gwangju Biennale is Jo Ractliffe, whose illuminating black and white photographs imaging the sprawling settlements in a post-war Luanda are currently also on view at Warren Siebrits, Johannesburg, in a series entitled 'Terreno Ocupado'.
The 7th Gwangju Biennale, titled 'Annual Report: A Year in Exhibitions', runs through November 9 at the Biennale Hall, the Gwangju Museum of Art, the Uijae Museum of Korean Art, the Daein Traditional Market, and the Cinema Gwangju.
